"Every man carries a badge." - Sgt. John O'Mara Swift shot: Brutality at its finest! In post-war America, Mickey Cohen runs Los Angeles with a vicious appetite for power and violence. The only people brave (or dumb enough) to stand up to him, The Gangster Squad, doesn't officially exist. If you can "stomach" intense violence, and have a real love … [Read more...] about Gangster Squad
Dick Flick
V/H/S
Why mixing sub-genres is never a good idea. The H-Bomb: A gang of annoying douche bags, who typically earn money by selling videos of themselves sharking women, are hired to break into a house and steal a videotape. They're not told exactly what the tape is, just that they'll know it when they see it. So they break into the place, and find an old man dead in the living … [Read more...] about V/H/S
Red Dawn 2012
"For them, this is just a place. For us, it's home!" Swift shot: This is not your father's Red Dawn, this new Red Dawn is a homogenized, watered-down version with a lot less story and a lot less relevance. I started a rule about comparing remakes with the original when more than 20 years has passed, so I won't draw many more comparisons with the … [Read more...] about Red Dawn 2012
Taken 2
Swift shot: I spent half the film nitpicking stupid decisions by the bad guys. I wanted to really like this one more. I just didn't. It was derivative and not really that original, but unlike The Hangover [formula films] this formula needed something special to make it more than just a tacked-on extension of the first film. Taken 2 takes you to Istanbul, … [Read more...] about Taken 2
Looper
When will your loop be closed? Swift shot: A film that defies expectation. If you've seen one preview for Looper, you know what it is purportedly about, but that's just the cordite on the blunderbuss - while it has a strong science-fiction platform, the story is what I was most drawn to. Ultimately it is a story about throw-away people and what the cycles of neglect … [Read more...] about Looper
